.floatimg-left-hort { float:left; } .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 12px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} Some experts have predicted that 2010 will be much better than 2009.

Well golleeeee! There’s a brilliant statement. Probably made by the same idiots who said the recession is over. The reality is that no one knows. The fact is that some companies will have their best year ever, and others will go out of business.

Someone somewhere will measure some obscure number and proclaim it to be an “indicator.” That’s probably the same jack that predicted Hurricane Katrina would miss New Orleans and the swine flu would kill everybody, and told us that the value of real estate is down only 9 percent.

REALITY: 2010 will ONLY be better than 2009 if YOU make it better. You are the recovery, the bailout and the stimulus.

REALITY: 2010 is not about THE economy; it’s about YOUR economy.

REALITY: Stop worrying about random global and national situations and start taking positive local action. It’s not THE market; it’s YOUR marketplace. It’s not THE banking industry; it’s YOUR banking relationship. It’s not THE availability of credit; it’s YOUR credit needs and money availability. Stop watching THE news, and concentrate on BUSINESS news.

REALITY: The pressure for more sales will be on. If you’re in sales, that means you.

REALITY: The pressure to reduce your prices will be severe BOTH from your customers and your competition.

Any questions?

Here’s a 2010 game plan:

• Visit your top 25 customers. The state of their business is the predictor of yours. Get closer to them. Help them. Serve them memorably.

• Get your online presence out of the 1990s. Invest in the Internet. It’s not going away, and everyone is using it to buy things and get information.

• Start offering help messages and value messages on your Web site, blog, e-zine and social media sites that are aimed at your customers and prospects. Social media is here to stay. Get on it, get with it, or lose to the competition.

• Develop and maintain a GREAT business reputation AND personal reputation. The Internet can help you build one.

• Create and send one weekly value message to all customers. Just because they’re not buying now doesn’t mean they won’t be buying soon. Be top of mind with value messages, not sales calls.

• Master social media for your business. Create a Facebook fan page and update it with candid industry comments and videos of as many people and things as possible. Tweet value tips every day, using your industry key words.

• Improve your Google ranking. Your own Web site, blog and social media presence will help.

• Keep morale up even if business is still down. Train positive attitude all year long to everyone in your company.

• Focus on customer loyalty. Provide service and value that lead to customer loyalty, not customer satisfaction

• Make certain you have a value proposition in favor of the customer, not a sales pitch.

• Learn customer buying motives, not old-world sales techniques.

• Change from cold calls to referrals.

• Take a course in creativity.

• Have at least one sales celebration meeting.

• Get executives closer to customers.

• Get marketing closer to sales.

These are real-world actions to take that, in my opinion, are not options. They’re the bare minimum essentials to thrive this year. And these are all things you can do on your own.

Jeffrey Gitomer can be reached by phone at (704) 333-1112 or by e-mail at salesman@gitomer.com. © 2010 Jeffrey H. Gitomer